News

Henderson, Polk Habitat agencies merge

By Bill Moss, Published: May 17, 2017

Habitat for Humanity agencies serving Henderson County and Polk County and Landrum, S.C., announced the merger of their organizations on Wednesday.

he Habitat affiliates, each with a long history of helping families in their communities, are uniting to create an organization that will increase their ability to serve families in need of decent, affordable housing. Both affiliates say the merger will enable them to more efficiently leverage donor funds and ultimately increase the number of affordable homes built and families served through their Homeownership and Neighborhood Preservation Programs.

Over 28 years ago, the two affiliates were founded independently out of local grassroots efforts to face mounting shortages of affordable housing. As the housing challenges in the area have grown more urgent over the years, the need for a united approach to those challenges has become more compelling.
“We are very excited about working together to achieve greater impact in our neighboring communities," Henderson County Habitat for Humanity President Ron Laughter said in a news release. "By pooling our resources, combining our staff and board expertise, we will become more efficient and accomplish more than we would have as two separate organizations. Joining two neighboring counties will expand our capacity to acquire more land, build and renovate more homes, partner with more families, and engage more supporters."

Henderson County Habitat board Chair Glenn Richardson said: "Our two affiliates collectively have created homeownership opportunities for more than 250 families throughout our service areas and together as one Habitat affiliate we will be even more effective in our role as advocates for successful homeownership opportunities for low-income families."

Each affiliate will continue to represent the unique character of its community, and will continue to do business as Thermal Belt Habitat for Humanity in Polk County and Landrum and Henderson County Habitat for Humanity in Henderson County. They will continue to use local resources, depend on local supporters, and serve local families.

Most of the changes resulting from the merger will not be noticeable to the community. “Our back-end systems will be streamlined to eliminate redundancies and preserve financial resources. Our united homeowner programs will retain best practices from each organization and, as a result of the merger, will expand and grow stronger” said Ron. Office headquarters will be at 1111 Keith St., Hendersonville where Henderson County Habitat for Humanity has been since 1992.
About Henderson County Habitat for Humanity
Henderson County Habitat for Humanity, a Christian organization, builds quality affordable homes, creates strong communities, and changes lives by partnering with committed volunteers, professional staff, and eligible families living in inadequate housing. For more information about Henderson County Habitat for Humanity, please visit www.habitat-hvl.org, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @habitatie.

Angie Hunter